


Thanks for Staying

by WinterRain232



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: But it's important to me that you know they're together, Established Relationship, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I cannot believe this is the first fic I'm posting, It's really not ship heavy, Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Professor Oak is a bit of an ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26619127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterRain232/pseuds/WinterRain232
Summary: Red has always been bad with words. They get stuck inside and he can't seem to choke them out. But for Green? He'll say as many words as he has to. (It's still not very many.)
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Comments: 6
Kudos: 89





	Thanks for Staying

It was no secret that Red didn’t talk much. People usually just assumed he was shy or nervous about meeting others, and they were partially correct because he _was_ . But it was also more than that. Red wasn’t technically mute, he _could_ talk, but it was… hard for him.

It wasn’t hard for Green. 

Green spouted words with reckless abandon. They flowed from his lips like water from a spigot that rarely, if ever, turned off. They just flowed and flowed and flowed. Red was generally in awe of this because where Red’s words remained stubbornly stuck in his throat, Green’s dripped naturally from his lips. 

Red had come to depend on Green’s ability to just… talk to people. Green’s knack for getting along with others. Green’s knowledge of how _people_ work. Just… _Green._

Amazing, wonderful, beautiful Green, who never stopped moving, never stopped talking, never stopped being himself.

Except for now. 

Because right now Green was silent as he stared off into the distance. Right now Green was completely still. Right now Red had no idea how to handle him.

When they were kids Red had spent all his time trying to keep up with Green. Every moment he forced himself onwards, desperate to match Green’s relentless pace. Some days he’d do okay. Most days he didn’t. It used to seem that Green never even took time to breathe.

Things had shifted since then. Ten years later and they were finally moving with each other. But now something had forced Green to stop in his tracks, and Red was at a loss.

He didn’t want to leave Green alone, though, so he sat down in the grass next to him. He didn’t have any words to offer, so he stayed quiet and hoped Green would fill the silence eventually; start loudly complaining about whatever it was that was bothering him.

He didn’t.

But he also didn’t tell Red to leave, so Red stayed.

He watched the clouds move through the sky overhead. The two stayed put as the late afternoon sun sank and the light turned everything gold. Green never once uttered a word.

It seemed their roles had switched without Red’s knowing. He’d have to be the one who did the talking. The only problem was he had _no idea_ what to say. He never had to talk to his pokemon; they always knew what he meant without spoken words. But this was _Green_ and for Green, he’d try. He took a deep breath and forced the words out.

“Are you okay?” Three whole words. It shouldn’t have felt as monumentous as it did.

“Yeah, of course I’m okay.” Came Green’s cheerful answer. He was smiling, but it wasn’t one of his real smiles. “I’m awesome as always. You know? I think tonight’s sunset is gonna be a great one!” He finished the statement with a dramatic flourish of his hands.

Whenever Red used to get upset, his mom would tell him it was okay to not be okay. It always seemed to help settle him somehow. He wondered if the saying would help Green at all, or if it would just make him angry. He didn’t want to make him storm off, but it was also clear that Green wasn’t okay. It’s only like six more words; Red could do this.

“It’s okay if you’re not, Green.” Green looked at him, and the smile faded. Red resisted the urge to break eye contact.

“I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it, Red.”

Two words. Just two more words.

“That’s okay.” 

Green snorted, “Yeah, Arceus knows you can’t judge me for not talking.” There was a slight quirk to his lips that wasn’t quite a smile, but there was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Red decided to take it as a victory and nodded in return. 

They continued to sit in the grass until the sun dropped below the horizon. Green was right, it was a great sunset.

* * *

Green didn’t exactly have the best relationship with his grandfather and Red knew it. Things always got tense when the two of them were together, but it usually wasn’t _too_ bad. So when Red walked into a screaming match between Green and his grandfather he was surprised. 

Honestly, Red didn’t know that Professor Oak was even coming over today, let alone this early. He had just gotten back from his morning training with his pokemon, and normally Green would be just waking up.

Green was definitely not a morning person.

He looked plenty awake now though. He also looked angry. 

The two of them stopped yelling at each other when they noticed Red standing rigid in the doorway. He probably looked like a deerling in headlights. Professor Oak was the first one to talk.

“Ah, Red, how wonderful to see you.” Red stepped through the entryway and closed the door behind him as the professor continued. “I was just telling Green about my newest research project.” 

Green’s already angry expression darkened and he didn’t say a word. Pikachu, who was resting on Red’s shoulder, picked up on the tension rather quickly. Professor Oak, apparently, did not.

“You see, I was planning to travel to the Galar region to study the pokemon there, and I was hoping you could join me.”

Green remained stubbornly quiet and Red found himself off-kilter. As he tried to determine exactly what was going on, the professor continued. He spoke at length of the Galar region’s wild area, and the various new pokemon he was eager to study. All the while Green looked more and more surly. It looked like Red would have to talk again. 

That was fine. If it was for Green’s sake it was fine. Everything would be fine. Pikachu was a grounding weight on his shoulders.

“Green and I are kind of busy here actually. Lance was-”

“Green can handle that just fine.” Professor Oak made a dismissive wave of his hand. “This would be an excellent opportunity for the both of us.” 

_Both of us? What did…?_

_Oh._

So Professor Oak only meant to get Red’s help and not his grandson’s.

“So, I was thinking we could leave in about a week,” He glanced over at Green whose expression had gone from angry to resigned. The pieces snapped into place and now it was Red’s turn to be angry. “And stay over there for-”

“No.” 

There was a heartbeat of silence. Both Green and Professor Oak looked surprised, but Green was smiling. Oak looked disappointed. 

“Now Red, there’s no need to be-”

“No.” The silence lasted longer this time, so Red took a deep breath, steadied his nerves, and made his stance as clear as he could.

“I’m not going.”

Professor Oak didn’t stay long after that. When he left all the tension walked out the door with him. 

“You know,” Green started, “I was so scared you’d leave like you did before. With Mt. Moon.” Red felt his breath catch slightly. “I guess I shouldn’t have worried.” And there, there was Green’s smile. _That_ Green smile that made his eyes shine and always had Red blushing. 

Red pulled the brim of his hat as far over his eyes as he could; his cheeks were on fire. No more words were coming out of him, that was for sure. He felt the brim pull up suddenly and there was Green’s face, right next to his. The whispered, “Thank you for staying.” was nice.

The kiss that followed was even more so.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this first fanfiction that I'm posting. I always seem to chicken out of actually posting my work, but not this time! (・`ω´・ ●)
> 
> Anyways. Constructive criticism is welcome as are comments and kudos. Have a lovely day! :D


End file.
